Vegan Roasted Mushroom Soup

Most soups I have tried and seen recipes from are all blended mushroom soups. I wanted to make something different.

This soup is hearty and full of different flavours. You taste the individual flavours from the mushroom, the sweet potato and the lightly spiced soup.

Every mouthful has a different flavour and the mushrooms got a nice bite from the roasting. Normally I am not a big fan of the gooey slug like texture mushrooms can tend to get. But, roasting them like this makes them get another texture that has a pleasant bite.

I felt it was such a shame to blend such a beautifully roasted mushroom and decided to just chop it in bigger pieces (I only halved them). While eating, I decided that chopping them into quarters or less would work better, but chop them in the sizes you prefer really.

Slight Asian inspired with the tamari, ginger and garlic, but it’s very subtle. Creamy but not heavy, the noodles fills, but the real star of the soup is the mushroom, and the amount of mushroom that’s in the soup.

Brush the dirt off of all the mushrooms, please don’t wet them by washing them. Put them on an oven rack with baking paper or a silicone mat.

Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil, thyme and a bit of salt and pepper. Flip them to evenly cover the mushrooms. Arrange the mushrooms so they have the stem facing upwards. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes on convection in the middle of the oven.

Peel the sweet potato and chop in smaller chunks in about 1-2 cm dices (0.5 - 1 inch) and put in the pot with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper. Turn the heat on high and stir occasionally. Fry for a few minutes.

Peel and roughly chop the onion and garlic and add to the pot. Fry until the onions are soft.

Then add in the soy cream, water, powdered vegetable stock, tamari and ginger. Turn the heat on low and slowly bring to a simmer.

When the mushroom are ready and golden, take out of the oven and let cool for a minute or until safe to handle. Chop each mushroom in quarters (or smaller if desired) and add to the soup. If you want a nice presentation safe a few whole mushrooms to put on top of the soup.

Put the rice noodles in the pot and cover them completely with the soup. Let simmer for a few minutes until the rice noodles are soft. Add more salt and pepper to taste if needed.

Divide the soup equally in 4 bowls and top with spring onions, whole baked mushrooms and sesame seeds.